Let's start with tomorrow: His opening act was a chick named Krystal Keith. No, it's not a coincidence. Krystal Keith is the country superstar's 28-year-old daughter.

What's also not a coincidence is that she has a lot of the swagger her daddy had when he burst on the scene in 1993 with "Should've Been A Cowboy.'' Toby has done things his way ever since, and it seems Krystal is following in his bootsteps.

Krystal, whose first appearance in the public eye was dueting with the Old Man on a cover of "Mockingbird'' a decade ago, went viral with a song she wrote – behind Dad's back – for her own wedding, "Daddy Dance With Me.''

It's a sweet song that has become THE father-daughter wedding reception song from the hills to the Hamptons.

It also led to her first album, "Whiskey & Lace,'' and THAT is the thing that shows the Keith swagger. The title cut, penned by Krystal, is about a stripper trying to feed her family. Ain't nobody but a Keith who'd write that.

In her short, seven-song set, Keith showed off a set of pipes that, in retrospect, should not have been a surprise. Those pipes and that Keith swagger were best displayed on a cover of Melissa Etheridge's "I'm the Only One.'' I'm not sure she needed the microphone to be heard on the lawn.

View full sizeKrystal Keith returned to the Blossom Music Center stage for the first time in a decade to open for her dad, Toby Keith.Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer

Krystal Keith is still a bit awkward onstage, which is to be expected. Most artists who play venues like Blossom have worked their way UP to that kind of platform, playing bars, honky-tonks, festivals, graduation parties, bar mitzvahs, whatever. She's starting OUT at the top. But I don't think there's going to be that much of a curve; she's going to be fine.

Now, as for the today part – well, that would be the OTHER opener – hick-hop artist Colt Ford.

Truthfully, it was a great 45 minutes from Ford, but he was at a distinct disadvantage: His flow is the chocolatey center of the Tootsie Pop. Ford's writing has been a part of some of the most popular new stuff in country, from Jake Owen's "Back'' to Jerrod Niemann's "Crickets'' to Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road,'' – all of which he performed Sunday night.

View full sizeColt Ford may be -- and probably IS -- the best hick-hop artist there is out there. But hillbilly rap is still in the "backing vocals'' stage of country music.Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer

The problem is trying to turn a condiment into a main course. I love ketchup and mayonnaise and – on a good brat, Stadium Mustard. But I can't make a meal of those.

Now, for the yesterday: Of course that's Toby.

But don't misunderstand me: The prolific singer-songwriter – "Drinks After Work'' is his 17th studio album, which means he's averaging close to one a year – is just as relevant today as he was yesterday, and at 52, he's a long way from done, thank heavens.

But for this show, among the 29 tunes he did, counting the encores, he pulled out a lot of the older songs, the ones that made him a star.

Personally, I like that idea. I mean, I get the commercial need to share new music and "build the brand.'' Which is Nashvillevspeak for "sell more records.''

But Toby already has his brand. And while I wish he'd been able to do it better -- he spent a lot of Sunday night flatter than a Waffle House pancake -- I think the evening was almost a way of saying thank you to those of us – yes, I'm a fan – who have put him where he is.

His show was supposed to last a nickel shy of two hours. Instead, it went for two hours and 15 minutes. That could be because he broke out those old hits, and I'm cool with that.

Yeah, we got to hear "Haven't Had a Drink All Day'' and "Shut Up and Hold On'' off the new album, but we also got relative chestnuts such as "Dream Walkin''' and "He Ain't Worth Missin','' which hit No. 1 in 1994. Then there was "Wish I Didn't Know Now,'' also off that debut album, as well as "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This,'' from 1999.

With a discography as vast as Keith's, it's understandable that forgetting a lyric or two could be an issue, especially when retrieving songs you haven't done in a decade. But it was more of a problem than it should've been Sunday night.

Now I had a friend with me who blamed the forgetfulness on the contents of Keith's "Red Solo Cup'' (maybe the best party anthem in years), but I don't think that was the case. Yeah, a bottle of whiskey made the rounds among the band – including Keith – later in the show, but his cup never did runneth over ... or spill, which we all know is the WORST form of alcohol abuse.

But what struck me was the absence of that celebrated Toby Keith vibrato. Notes weren't sustained, and that worries me. I see Krystal Keith's potential to slip into her Dad's saddle. But she's not ready to put her foot in that left-side stirrup yet.

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